Trump says he has had no flashbacks of assassination attempt

By 
 September 4, 2024

Donald Trump is mentally unfazed by his near-death experience in Butler, Pennsylvania, telling the Daily Mail that the attack had "no impact."

Friends have asked if he is suffering symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, but Trump said he thinks about the event surprisingly little.

"A couple of people have asked me that, and I have had no impact," he told the outlet. "It's just amazing."

No PTSD, Trump says

Trump captivated the world with his courageous reaction to the attack, as he raised one fist in defiance and shouted, "Fight!"

Days later, Trump received a hero's welcome at the Republican National Convention, where he shared a solemn account of his brush with death while wearing a bandage on his ear.

Trump soon made a quick return to the campaign trail as if nothing had ever happened, holding his first rally just a week after the shooting.

He told the Daily Mail that he has not experienced flashbacks or bad dreams of the event, which he has discussed openly in various interviews.

"But I have not had any, I must tell you, I don't think about it a lot," he said.

"I don't want to think about it a lot, but I've had ... no it's had no impact. It healed up."

Was God watching?

In the weeks since the July 13 shooting, Trump has often discussed the event in spiritual terms. Like many, he credits his survival to Providence.

"And you know what I'd love to think, I would love to think it's God, and it's God doing it because he wants to save America," he said.

"He sees what's happening. God sees what's happening in America," he went on. "We're going bad as a country. Even with religion, we're going bad."

Trump happened to turn his head just as the bullet came whizzing past, leaving him with a bloodied ear. Trump had turned away to look at a chart with immigration statistics.

"You look at the charts, and I would like to say that it is God that saved me," he said. "It wasn't just luck, but the reason would be that he saved me, because I can save this country. I hope that's right."

Trump has defied pleas to change his campaign plans since the shooting. He held an outdoor rally in North Carolina with bulletproof glass and he has pledged to return to Butler in October.

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